A group of housing advocates in Victoria is asking local churches to volunteer their parking lots for a new shelter option that can keep someone in need warm during the winter months.
Krista Loughton, documentary director, has helped raise funds more than $ 5,000 to build a Conestoga cabin in the city, a test to show that insulated wagon-style structures are a functional short-term option for the homeless.
“We call on all the churches in the Greater Victoria area to put a cabin in their parking lot, and for now, we only need one church to do that,” he told Global News on Tuesday.
“We can finish our prototype, we can show that it works, and hopefully other churches would step up to replicate the model.”
Conestoga Huts is seen in Oregon on September 13, 2020. A group of housing advocates is trying to build one of the micro-shelters in Victoria, BC as a temporary housing solution for someone in need.
Flickr / Jonathan Lidbeck
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Loughton co-founded the Community Alliance for Sheltering Alternatives with friends Matt Dell and Jeremy Caradonna after reviewing more than 115 hours of footage he shot last year of homeless camps in Victoria.
They noted that the Conestoga cabins have been used successfully in other jurisdictions, such as the Oregon City of Eugene, and decided to build one in the city.
Modular micro-shelters can be built quickly by a handful of volunteers, and a unit costs between $ 2,500 and $ 4,000, Loughton said.
“We have an extreme climate response, but it is not enough,” he explained. “Enough is enough, it is time for the community to step up.”
The Community Alliance for Housing Alternatives has already selected a candidate for the first cabin in Victoria, but has yet to find a parking lot for the church.
Any other responsibilities the church took on as a partner would be discussed “one on one,” Loughton added, but the organization plans to have other volunteers support the cabin resident with needs such as groceries and friendship.
He said there were an estimated 50 or more people sleeping outside in Victoria Monday night in freezing temperatures.
Alex Bourque was one of them, telling Global News that some nights he has woken up “covered in snow banks.” A shelter like Conestoga Hut would “change everything,” he said, and allow him to focus on getting back to work.
“It’s a great idea if people go inside. All I wanted for Christmas was to come in and start living my life again. “
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According to the city of Victoria, there are about 1,500 people experiencing homelessness in the capital region.
Last year, the municipality created an emergency social services grant of more than $ 100,000 to help ensure that people living outside can access showers, outreach services, food and clothing.
The city also works with BC Housing, Island Health, the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness, the Aboriginal Coalition to End Homelessness, and other agencies to help residents in need find access to shelter.
In March, Victoria and the British Columbia government signed an agreement committing to ending homeless encampments in local parks and finding indoor living spaces for those affected.
The provincial government says There are over 11,000 subsidized housing units, rental supplements and emergency shelter spaces for the homeless or at risk of homelessness in BC
Global News has contacted both the city and the provincial minister responsible for housing to comment on this story.
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